How to survive in a forest with nothing

Staying alive in any survival situation can be tough, but the one thing that makes it easier is having the right tools to help you get by. A fire starter, a knife, and an axe can see you through pretty much any situation, but what happens when you’re stuck somewhere without any equipment at all? The answer would depend massively on where you are, as surviving in the Arctic would have very different priorities than surviving in a jungle.

There are forests in countries like the UK where it’s almost impossible to get stranded and walking no more than a few hundred feet will usually lead to a track or small farmhouse, but countries like Canada don’t have this safety net. Should you find yourself stranded in a large forest with no way of calling for help, then keep the following things in mind.

If someone notices you’re missing or there’s the chance that an alarm could be raised over your disappearance, then the first thing to do is to stay put, especially if you are with a vehicle, but only do this if someone knows the area you might be in. Rescue teams will always try to locate the vehicle in question first, not only because it’s easier to find but shows where the survivors were, if not still are. If a vehicle isn’t present then they will search the local area and then the areas along the route you should have taken.

If no one notices you’re missing or you purposefully disappeared, then you’re going to have to survive on what you have to work with in the forest, and even though there are plenty of harsher environments, the forest still poses many threats to your life.

Priorities when stranded in the middle of a huge forest

Water, Shelter, Food, fire, better shelter, tools, stockpiling

Assuming you have to wait a while for rescue, here’s a general idea of the things I would do in such a situation, but nothing can avoid a survival situation like telling someone where you’re going. The story of Chris McCandless is a good example of how not to survive in the forest alone, after not telling anyone where he was going, he got stranded after a river flooded and ended up starving to death in an abandoned bus.

Day 1 – The basics

The first part of the day should be spent looking for a water source, and since forests generally don’t have trouble collecting moisture, it shouldn’t take too long to find one. A stream or spring would be the first choice, but even a good patch of moss at the bottom of a cliff or a large patch of soaked earth such as ground covered in sphagnum moss should do the trick.

As much time as needed should be spent looking for a decent source, gathering and taking note of any wild food locations along the way. The time spent looking for a water source should stop when you have no less than 2 hours of daylight left, as having enough time to make a shelter for the night is very important.

(The best water source would be a source of fresh flowing water like a stream, but be careful to check where it’s coming from and how clean it might be)

When a water source is located or you’ve run out of time you should start making a shelter, but luckily forests are generally the best places to build one. With no equipment, it would be best to make something you can quickly put together with your hands, like a single-sloped roof covered in handfuls of dried leaves, pine branches, or ferns, depending on the time of year and what’s available.

If there are tree roots, vines, or anything you can pull off and use as make-shift cordage this should be used to fix your shelter together and make it strong enough to withstand the extra water weight if it rained or saw strong wind.

Days 2 to 4 – Settling in

If a decent water source still hasn’t been located then this day should be spent looking for one, but we’ll assume you found one on the first day. Immediate food sources should be found and consumed whenever you have the chance, with most things you’ll find having the option of being safe to eat raw. Stinging nettles have very similar nutritional content to spinach, and grow in almost every single forest in Europe. To eat nettles you would normally boil them or gently wave them through a fire to wilt the stinging needles, but without fire or tools they become much harder to eat safely, so here’s what you do.

Take a stick and hit a few of the leaves off, then move them on top of a rock or flat stone and crush them with another one, gently rolling the crushing stone over the leaves to destroy all the needles. It’s not perfect but it’s a hell of a lot better than eating them as they are, and since nettles grow in huge amounts in many areas and for most of the year, they should be a primary source of food.

(Stinging nettles, one of the most annoying plants for a gardener, but one of the best for anyone looking to survive in the wild)

After you’ve found a source of food that could last you a few days it’s time to make something a bit more comfortable. A round shelter with long steep sticks or branches stacked into a tee-pee style design would be my first choice as a fire can be built in the middle. Until it’s finished at least you have somewhere to sleep and know where food and water are, but it’s worth getting a comfortable shelter with a dry sleeping area built as soon as possible. Soaking wet clothes can be a killer in the worst situations, and apart from sapping your energy and morale they can help you catch a cold easier, something you definitely don’t want in a survival situation.

The last thing it’s very important to do early on is let someone know you are in the area, which can be done by making a help sign using rocks or branches in a clearing where it can be seen from the air.

Days 5 to 15 – Getting Comfortable

By now you should have a decent shelter that will last you at least 30 days located close to a water source, so it’s time to start making things. Flint would be the best thing you could find as not only could you use it to start a fire, but it can be shaped into very sharp knife blades and other tools.

After you have a set of tools and the ability to make fire using flint or a fire bow, food is now going to be your main concern. It would also be wise to find a backup water source just in case, but this would depend massively on what your primary source was as a stream or anything bigger should do nicely.

When it comes to food this would depend on where you are and what time of year it is, but we’ll assume you got lucky and became stranded during the summer. Food like nettles and cat-tails usually grow in huge patches and make a decent staple, but berries won’t last long after being picked and should be eaten right off the plant to avoid any decomposition. A food source that can last long enough until rescue should be sought, like nuts or acorns. Nuts can be picked and stored as they are, but acorns need to be processed before eating because they are full of tannins which will make you sick if you eat them.

(They take much more time and effort to process but are one of the few plants that provide a source of fat in the wild)

To process acorns take the cups off the bottom and crack open the shells to remove them. Then gently crush the inner nut without smashing it to pieces and put it in one of your socks. Place the sock in some water, preferably a stream or something you have the option of changing frequently, and the tannins should start to leak out. When there’s no more water coming off them with a yellow tint to it, they should be safe to eat and can be consumed as they are.

Placing a flat rock into a fire and then putting a dollop of acorn mush on it will produce a crumbly nut biscuit-type thing which is surprisingly good to eat and more importantly contains much-needed fats that are hard to find in the wild.

Animal traps should be made like fish/crayfish traps which can be put together by bending flexible sticks into a curved cylinder with one-way openings at each end, initially baited with bugs or worms. Snare traps for rabbits made from cordage are very easy to make and can be done with nothing more than a strong stick and 2 feet of cord, and crushing traps for squirrels could also be made depending on how good your tools are.

Days 15 to 30 – Staying Alive

After the initial setting up of your camp and knowing where to find food, the second half of your time in the forest should be spent in routine. It’s very important to get into a positive routine as it not only passes time and avoids psychological issues, but provides everything you will need for your time in the wild. Here’s an example of a positive routine in a woodland survival situation after the initial setup:

Wake up whenever you feel refreshed enough, there’s no shame in having a lay-in since the goal is to wait until rescue. Something to eat should be on hand and preferably something cooked, like acorns or cat-tails which can be cooked directly on the ashes. Having a hot meal at the start of the day will make a huge difference to your morale.

The next stage is checking the traps. Woodland animals are the most active at night, and walking around all your traps checking them, and resetting them is best done first thing in the morning. Food gathering should be the next part, foraging for any food you already know where to find, and even if you have enough to last you like a ton of acorns and nettles, it’s still important to mix up your diet with things like berries or edible roots.

After food gathering firewood should be topped up and kept under cover to dry out, and then it’s into your shelter for the rest of the day to conserve energy and reduce calorie usage.

To avoid boredom you should engage in crafts like making more cordage or shaping wood with your tools. Even if you don’t need more cord it’s a good idea to make some anyway as it just keeps you busy, and having some nice craft works hanging down from your shelter will give a moral boost.

Other tasks undertaken during this time should be making spares of things you use. Having a second fire bow or flint blade on standby is something you’ll wish you did when yours breaks.

Day 31 – Getting rescued

Get rescued, spend a little while at the hospital before getting discharged, have a shower then buy several rotisserie chickens from the local supermarket before eating them with your bare hands like a Viking, or that’s what I would do anyway.